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Memphis at Eye Level: Part 1

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“Memphis at Eye Level: Part 1” is a reference to “The City at Eye Level”. I want to highlight my favorite Memphis bike route so far. I realize that I have not explored every Memphis neighborhood yet, so I may find a new favorite route. As I stated during my interview with Tulio from the Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club, I have been pleasantly surprised by Memphis’ bike infrastructure across the Mississippi River at the Big River Crossing and between Downtown and Shelby Farms Park.

Instagram recording is https://www.instagram.com/p/Cywr50UgYrR/
Facebook recording is https://www.facebook.com/MemphisHightailersBicycleClub/videos/6620980434622801
Zoom recording (passcode !!S0H!R^) is https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/TWI8YeuVcb3CaZh7qVLMJ2qIk-f1DMuqUCBAk8HSezAKddvGfq4YQYchVPlmdBA.wP19ToM8Q4j7Xj6F

I am thankful to work with coworkers who value my passion for active transportation. I treasured receiving this handwritten letter from Matthew more than receiving an email.

Handwritten letter from Ray’s coworker

Ray’s Favorite Memphis Bike Route

I wish that I had stopped to take more photos while biking because my usual “The City at Eye Level” post is not going to be as visual as I prefer. At least I can share a map of my favorite Memphis bike route. Yes, it takes about 90 minutes. I usually stop on the way for a meal and to do errands. I enjoy the variety of bike infrastructure, which starts with speed bumps on Front St, protected bike lanes on MLK Ave, bike lanes on Peabody Ave and McLean Blvd, low-volume side streets on Jefferson Ave and Tucker St to more easily access Overton Park, wooded car-free roads in Overton Park, multi-use trails called the Hampline and Greenline, and ends with wooded trails in Shelby Farms Park.

Ray’s favorite Memphis bike route. Source: Google Maps

Yes, I wish Peabody Ave connected directly to the Greenline when I am in a rush. However, I do not mind the extra distance through Overton Park too much because I enjoy forest bathing in Overton Park. As this map shows, there are plans to extend the Greenline closer to Peabody Ave. The Shelby Farms Greenline Western Extension should be connected to the South Memphis Greenline Phase 1 someday. An on-street connection will likely be needed to safely connect these future extensions to Peabody Ave. I should clarify that this is my personal opinion and not the opinion of the City of Memphis’ Bikeway and Pedestrian Program, which I manage. Do you see the South Memphis Greenline Phase 1 in the bottom left corner and how it could someday connect to the Shelby Farms Greenline?

In addition to improving the active transportation networks in Memphis, I am also looking forward to improving the City’s bike map to make it more user-friendly. For example, I want to make it easier for people to find safe routes and bike shops that will work on e-bikes. As an e-bike owner, I recommend All About Bikes. In case the bike shop is located too far, I also recommend Velotooler, which is a mobile bicycle service. I am located far from All About Bikes, so I have been trying to improve my bike repair skills. Since it is tough to change an inner tube without help, I was thankful to have a Memphis friend help me when I got a flat tire. I now carry everything on my bike that I need to change an inner tube without needing to stop at a bike shop. I still support bike shops, especially local shops, but they are not always nearby when I get a flat tire.

Map source: https://bikepedmemphis.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/facilities-map_mar_2023_36x48.png

I also want to spotlight the importance of signals in creating safe active transportation networks. While the above map does not show bike-specific signals, I have found these signals helpful. The below bike signal is in Memphis on the Hampline at Tillman St as it crosses Sam Cooper Blvd. I would love to take this signal to the Dutch standard by adding a wacht signal (wacht is Dutch for “wait”). As I showed in this 2015 post from when I studied abroad in the Netherlands, the wacht signal allows people biking to see how long the wait time is for the signal to turn green. Since the Dutch standard is usually not legally allowed in the US, I was excited to see Portland (OR) install a wacht signal in 2015. I was actually in Portland when this signal was installed. I got to experience using it when I biked in Portland. I realize that Memphis has a unique culture and may not want to copy what Portland does. I look forward to collaborating with Memphians to create a unique approach that accomplishes the same goal of improving bike signals in Memphis.

Do you see the “bicycle detected when illuminated” signal on the Hampline at Tillman St as it crosses Sam Cooper Blvd? Photo: Ray Atkinson
The “bicycle detected when illuminated” signal coordinates with the bike signal on the Hampline to cross Sam Cooper Blvd in Memphis. Photo: Ray Atkinson

My favorite artistic part of the Hampline is the upcycled tires that are found on Broad Ave, which is just north of Sam Cooper Blvd. The photo below does not show the upcycled tires well, so I need to take a zoomed in photo when I bike on Broad Ave again. The upcycled tires are produced by locals at the Binghampton Development Corporation, which has an inspiring process of hiring at-risk locals. I got to tour their process during the Binghampton Tour. I tweeted (does X still call them tweets?) from the Bike Ped Memphis account during the TAPA Conference.

Photo of upcycled tires on the Hampline during the Binghampton Tour. Photo: Ray Atkinson

Improving How Ray Navigates While Biking

Even though I majored in Geography at UNC Charlotte and love studying maps, I will admit that I sometimes struggle to navigate Memphis without looking at a map. Due to this issue, I decided to back this $700 Kickstarter for Minimis’ augmented reality (AR) glasses. Assuming the glasses are shipped on time, I should receive them by next summer. I am looking forward to publishing a blog post about my experience using the expensive glasses!

Minimis Glass Prototype video. Source: Minimis

Since I prefer to socialize when biking, I am thankful that I have been invited to participate in several slow group rides in Memphis. The below ride along the Greenline was unique because it was the first large group ride organized by City of Memphis employees. While I did not feel comfortable taking photos of kids during the Carpenter Art Garden’s kid-friendly group bike ride, I also had an amazing experience helping to lead this weekly group bike ride along the Hampline and Greenline. One of the kids actually hugged me after the ride to thank me for helping!

Hopefully, someone took a high-quality photo!
Biking the Greenline in Memphis. Photo: Ray Atkinson

Future Blog Post

I was originally planning to write about my experience volunteering on the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry’s weekly bike rides. Since I have not participated in the Wednesday evening or Saturday morning ride yet, I will need to postpone blogging about this experience.

Arcata at Eye Level: Part 1

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I am writing this post on my smartphone because I decided not to bring my laptop on my 9-day Redwood National Park and nearby cities vacation. While I usually bring my laptop on trips, I packed more than usual this time because I plan to be more adventurous than usual, which is impressive considering I usually have adventurous vacations. “Arcata at Eye Level: Part 1” is a reference to “The City at Eye Level”.

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I wanted to write this quick post because the bike parking situation in Arcata is bothering me. Thankfully, I found a slightly secure covered bike parking solution within walking distance of my Airbnb. I wrote “slightly secure” because I am concerned about the people with bad hygiene who I saw in the shopping center potentially trying to steal my expensive bike.

I was originally planning to park my e-bike rental in one of the bike lockers at the Arcata Transit Center. Since a key is needed to use the bike lockers and the transit staff do not work during the weekend, I was unable to unlock the lockers today. I brought my own lock in case the lockers were able to be used with a lock provided by the user. Due to how many low-income people hang out at the transit center, I assume these people may have slept in the lockers if they were kept unlocked when there is no bike in the lockers. I experienced this issue at Clackamas Town Center when the bike lockers were removed after homeless people abused the lockers. How should bike locker providers balance providing cyclists with easy access to the lockers with preventing homeless people from abusing the lockers?

Arcata Transit Center bike lockers. Photo: Ray Atkinson

I searched for alternative covered bike parking in Arcata to protect the battery in my e-bike rental from getting wet in case it rains. This proved to be challenging due to how many racks are uncovered. I am thankful that there is at least some bike parking, especially downtown.

Partly covered bike parking in Arcata. The rest of the rack behind my bike is not covered.
Is this bike parking?

Thankfully, Arcata has some legitimate bike parking, which is mostly located downtown. I was honestly in a depressed mood from being alone, so I appreciated reading Greg Bee’s poetry on the bike rack because their poetry improved my mood. I recommend checking out Barb Chamberlain’s blog for more bike-related poetry.

Yes, I have been thinking about stuff beyond bike parking. I was intrigued by how Arcata has permeable pavement with a rain garden. I usually only think of larger cities having this innovative design.

Future Blog Post

One of my vacation goals is not to be glued to my phone, so I am not sure when I will publish my next post about my vacation. I look at screens enough at work!

Riding Alone on National Ride A Bike Day

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The first Sunday in May, which is today, is National Ride A Bike Day. The League of American Bicyclists created this day in 2021, so it is a recent addition to National Bike Month. As I shared in my last post, May is also National Mental Health Awareness Month. My personal connection between National Ride A Bike Day and National Mental Health Awareness Month is that I felt depressed biking alone today. While my close California friend, Stephen (not Stephan who lives in Minnesota), lives too far away in rural Clearlake Oaks to go on bike rides with me, we are hoping to plan a future bike ride someday. Stephen is excited to try riding my e-bike when we can find a safe test ride location in Petaluma. This was the closest I got to biking with someone today. I am also excited that an asexual (we met through OkCupid with my original thought of dating) female Windsor friend wants to bike with me someday. Our first attempt to bike together in and near Windsor was canceled due to light rain forcing the bike shop to cancel all bike rentals. I still cannot believe the bike shop canceled our rentals due to light rain!

Continuing Ray’s Settle Down Topic

While I also need male friends, most of whom have respected my desire to be friends and not lovers (I am recovering from almost getting raped by a male leader), I do not want to lose track of my “settle down” topic. Before I share political thoughts, I want to be clear that I know many moderates and conservatives who share my perspective on creating mixed-use neighborhoods that are safe to walk, bike, and ride transit in. Since I believe education is needed to create behavior change and know many moderates and conservatives who value increased property values, I want to encourage moderates and conservatives to research the return on investment (ROI) of investing in mixed-use neighborhoods that are safe to walk, bike, and ride transit in. I realize that I could share the research that I have already done on this topic. Due to my curiosity about the approach that moderates and conservatives use to research this topic, will you please share what research you found and the approach that you used to find the research?

I wanted to share the below tweets because I believe they relate to my struggle to meet and settle down with a non-asexual woman who is passionate about living in a mixed-use neighborhood that is safe to walk, bike, and ride transit in. I wish more than just liberals favored this type of neighborhood. Since the type of electric vehicle was not specifically mentioned in the Gallup poll, I have to assume that the poll question was asking about electric automobiles. Due to the ride of e-biking, I wish e-biking was taken more seriously in national polls. I am not sure if the Gallup poll asked a separate question about e-biking. Either way, a respondent’s political party was the greatest differentiator in whether Americans were willing to consider electric vehicles.

Future Blog Post

I copied the following from my last post. I have to use about 40 hours of PTO before it expires at the end of June. Since the rural areas in the Central Coast do not have connected and reliable transit services, I decided to plan a car-free vacation to Eureka with day trips to Redwood National Park. Due to Redwood National Park not having extensive public transit service, I am researching other ways to access the trailheads. Assuming the battery can last long enough, I may ride an e-bike rental from Eureka to the park, charge the battery, and then ride it back to Eureka. Hopefully, the battery does not take several hours to charge like my personal e-bike battery. I wish e-bike batteries would charge as fast as fueling a gas-powered car. While I have not refueled a car at a gas station recently, I believe cars can be refueled within a few minutes. I look forward to blogging more about this vacation.

Ray’s E-Bike Does Not Fit On Normal Bus Bike Rack

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I attended the 2022 CALACT Autumn Conference & Bus Show in Santa Rosa, CA this week (last week by the time you read this). Since the conference had several sessions on electric buses and the bus show displayed electric buses, I was hoping to talk with a vendor about what bus bike racks fit e-bikes. As the below list shows, bus bike rack companies like Sportworks were not a vendor. I asked the bus vendors whether their bike racks could fit an e-bike. While they agreed that e-bikes are growing in popularity and we need to plan for e-bikes, they were unable to answer my questions. At least many of the bus vendors had bike racks on their buses.

CALACT vendor list. Source: https://calact.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/BUS-EXPO-Show-Map3-10.20.22.pdf

Does Ray’s E-Bike Fit On Any Bus Bike Rack?

Petaluma Transit

I am not sure if any buses that I ride in the Bay Area have bike racks that fit my e-bike. While my Heybike Cityscape e-bike may appear to fit on the below bike rack, which is attached to a parked Petaluma Transit bus, the front wheel is not fully in the wheel tray. In case you are wondering where the battery is, I removed it to reduce the weight of my e-bike when loading it on the rack. Since I am nervous about my e-bike not fitting in the front tray correctly and I do not want to risk my e-bike falling out of the rack and getting run over by the bus, I have not put my e-bike on a moving bus yet.

Photo of Ray’s e-bike on a parked Petaluma Transit bus bike rack. Source: Ray Atkinson

Sportworks has this webpage titled Transporting E-bikes On Transit Vehicles. It appears the above Petaluma Transit bus has Sportworks’ DL2 transit bike rack, which has a 44″ wheelbase. Thankfully, I do not need to wait for a longer bike rack to be created. Sportworks’ Apex transit bike rack has a 48″ wheelbase, which should fit my e-bike. While I have not checked the wheelbase on all of Petaluma Transit’s bike racks, many of the racks appear to be the short DL2 transit bike rack. Since my team is preparing to purchase electric buses to replace the existing bus fleet, I hope there will be enough funding to purchase Apex transit bike racks that have a 48″ wheelbase.

Longer wheelbases are another characteristic of E-bikes that require consideration. Apex racks support wheelbases up to 48″ with DL2 and Trilogy models accommodating wheelbases up to 44″.

Sportworks

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART)

I am actually more concerned about buses that leave Petaluma than buses that stay in Petaluma. Petaluma is a small city with few hills, so I have been able to easily bike almost everywhere in Petaluma. Due to no frequent service lines, which is something that I hope will receive funding in the future, I have biked more than ridden Petaluma Transit so far. As a City of Petaluma employee, I can ride Petaluma Transit for free but more frequent service is needed for me to switch more of my trips to transit.

Back to why I am more concerned about buses that leave Petaluma than buses that stay in Petaluma. I would have to bike all the way back to Petaluma if the longer-distance buses do not have bike racks with a 48″ wheelbase. Since the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train has on-board bike parking, which is shown in the below 2017 video, I can bring my e-bike on the SMART train without being concerned about whether the bike length will fit. I still have to be careful about how wide my bike load is because SMART has a policy that “Bicycles wider than 16 inches, excluding handlebars, will only be allowed as space permits.” While I am thankful that I can bring my e-bike on the SMART train, the train does not run late at night or frequently.

Golden Gate Transit

I learned during the Sonoma County Transportation Authority’s Transit-Technical Advisory Committee meeting on January 11, 2023, that many transit agencies in the Bay Area are trying to accommodate e-bikes on their systems. Since this meeting was open to the public and recorded, I can share what was discussed. Golden Gate Transit staff shared their “Bike Racks on Buses” webpage, which has the below statement about e-bikes being allowed only on buses with front-mounted bike racks. Unfortunately, figuring out which buses have front-mounted bike racks is not easy. Staff said there is an app that tracks specific bus numbers for each route. While staff shared which bus numbers allow e-bikes, this information is not easily accessible to the public. Staff also said that these buses rotate with buses that do not allow e-bikes.

Even if I get lucky with the bus that allows e-bikes, the e-bike battery must remain on the bike and cannot be brought on board the bus. This is important because Golden Gate Transit does not allow e-bikes that weigh more than 55 pounds. My e-bike weighs 58.4 pounds with the battery. Since my battery weighs 7.67 pounds, my e-bike would weigh less than 55 pounds without the battery. Golden Gate Transit staff said the battery cannot be brought on board the bus because e-bike batteries have a history of exploding.

Electric bikes (e-bikes) are only allowed on buses with front-mounted bike racks. E-bike batteries must remain on the bike and cannot be brought on board the bus. E-bikes cannot weigh more than 55 lbs.

Golden Gate Transit
Source: https://www.goldengate.org/bus/riding-the-bus/bringing-your-bike/bike-racks-on-buses/

Amtrak

Yes, Petaluma has an Amtrak “stop”. I put “stop” in quotes because it is more of a bus stop than an Amtrak station. As the below video shows, Amtrak provides bus service between Petaluma and Napa. While I am thankful that Amtrak provides service at all from Petaluma to Napa because there is no other direct transit service, it feels weird that Amtrak provides a bus instead of a train. I have been researching how to reach Napa because it is a famous place to visit. I also want to explore more places to the east of Petaluma. I have focused mostly on places to the north and south of Petaluma so far.

Unfortunately, my e-bike is too heavy to be brought on Amtrak because it is over 50 pounds. Since my bike keeps being too heavy for every transit agency’s e-bike policy, I may need to buy a lighter e-bike. Hopefully, the lighter e-bike will have all the features that I am used to having. Do you think such an e-bike exists?

Electric bicycles under 50 lbs. are allowed in checked baggage and on trains with walk-on bicycle service. Gas-powered motorized bicycles are prohibited.

Amtrak

Swytch

Another option is to use Swytch’s electric bike conversion kit to convert my pedal-only bike into an e-bike. Due to some transit agencies not allowing e-bike batteries on board, I would need to confirm that Swytch’s battery can be brought on board. I am not sure whether Swytch’s battery is tough enough to be kept on the bike while on the bus’ bike rack.

Future Blog Post

I originally wrote that the above post is short. I added more to the post after learning more about e-bike policies in the Bay Area. I still want to blog more about my car-free adventures throughout the Bay Area. Since I have days off during the upcoming holiday season, I should have more time to explore the region. I have been texting with Solomon Haile, who lives in the East Bay and is a UC Berkeley student, about going on a bike ride together. Surprisingly, I have not met Solomon in person yet. We met online through our mutual passion to achieve Vision Zero or Sustainable Safety, which is another topic that I could write more about.

Ray’s Halloween Costume

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Happy early Halloween! I would publish this post on Halloween but I will be working on Halloween. While I do not have Halloween evening plans yet, I cannot do anything late in the evening because I have to wake up early for the 2022 CALACT Autumn Conference & Bus Show, which is November 1-4 in Santa Rosa, CA. Due to how close I am to Santa Rosa, I am embarrassed to admit that I have not been to Santa Rosa yet. I almost visited Santa Rosa this weekend for the Fall Fun Fest.

Fixing Flat Tire

Since the rear tire on my new e-bike had a flat from the below small thorn, I skipped the Fall Fun Fest to spend Friday and Saturday learning how to remove the rear tire from my e-bike. Removing the rear tire is much more complex on an e-bike than on a pedal-only bike. I should have also spent time learning how to reinstall the rear tire because the bike mechanic took pity on me when they saw how much I was struggling to reinstall the rear tire. As a silver lining, the wheels do not have quick-release levers. This is important because thieves can easily remove wheels that have quick-release levers.

Ray’s Halloween Costume

Hopefully, the bike issues are over so I can enjoy Halloween and the conference. My employer, Petaluma Transit, is organizing a Halloween party on Monday. While I may improve my costume before Monday, the below photo shows my first attempt at creating my costume. In case the photo does not make sense to you, the meaning is explained in this 2022 post. Even though California is usually one of the most progressive states, Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 122, which would have legalized the Idaho Stop. Since I do not enjoy having to figure out which states have legalized the Idaho Stop when I am biking on vacation, I hope the federal government legalizes the Idaho Stop in every state. This article gives me hope that the federal government may legalize the Idaho Stop before California legalizes it.

I am adding this paragraph because readers asked me whether any studies have found that the Idaho Stop is safer. Plus, I learned through discussing my costume with people that many people are against the Idaho Stop. These people felt the Idaho Stop is dangerous for cyclists and motorists. Yes, I find it concerning that these people assumed the Idaho Stop is dangerous without researching whether it is actually dangerous. While I wish there were more studies about the Idaho Stop and that lay people actually read the studies, I found this 2022 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fact sheet titled “Bicyclist “Stop-As-Yield” Laws and Safety Fact Sheet”. I also found this 2022 article titled “Study shows Idaho stop improves cyclist safety”.

Bicyclist stop-as-yield laws allow cyclists to mitigate risk to their advantage, increase their visibility to drivers and reduce exposure. Bicyclists have greater incentive to yield, as they are at high risk for injury at intersections. One study cites research showing that pedestrians and bicyclists exert more care and attention before crossing red signals than green (Leth et al., 2014).

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Future Blog Post

I realize the above post is short. I covered everything quicker than normal. While I will likely be exhausted from attending the conference this week, I may blog about the conference.

Ray’s Petaluma Apartment Complex Has Strict Bike Parking Policy

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My roommate and I received a patio notice from our Petaluma, CA apartment complex yesterday (Friday) that requires me to park my two bikes in a bike cage or inside my bedroom. The patio notice also requires us to bring our small trash and recycle cans inside. While I was tempted to share the notice publicly, it has our address on it. Since our lease states that only furniture can be on our patio, I should have read our lease closer. Thankfully, we did not get fined and the property manager is helping us to be compliant. We learned that many residents have bikes on their patios, so we were not the only residents who receive the notice. While I may find similar restrictions in a homeowner association (HOA) if my first home ends up being in an HOA, I have enough savings to buy my first home after my one-year work probation period is over next July. Due to how many Californians cannot afford to buy a home, I am fortunate to be able to afford an expensive home in California.

Where Can Ray Park His Two Bikes?

I wish the answer was as simple as inside a bike cage. While the below photo is hard to see inside the bike cage, there is only space for one more bike. The property manager said more bike cages are planned. Unfortunately, they do not have a timeline for when the bike cages will be built. At least they recognize the need for more bike cages.

Source: Ray Atkinson

Due to the potential for bike theft, I would prefer my bikes to be parked in a secure bike cage. Since I do not want to hang my bikes on the wall in my bedroom because they are heavy, I am hoping the property manager will allow me to lock my bikes to the non-secure bike racks outside the bike cages. I wrote “allow” because my apartment complex has a bike registration system. This is separate from the City of Petaluma. The property manager will remove my bikes if they are not registered and parked in the correct location. I have never lived in an apartment complex that has a bike registration system!

Ray Purchased His First E-Bike

I try to include something positive in my posts. While I was not planning to buy an e-bike when I moved to Petaluma and I still prefer pedaling, my new boss felt comfortable enough with me to share that I had bad hygiene issues. He actually told me this on my birthday, which is likely the most helpful birthday gift I have ever received. Yes, it was an awkward meeting but I am thankful that my boss felt comfortable enough with me to share such an important issue. The below photo shows my Class 2 e-bike and pedal-only bike. As a full-time City of Petaluma employee, I receive a $500 (before taxes) annual wellness benefit. I used this benefit to help me pay for the e-bike. I have never had this benefit before. I love how it is an annual benefit!

I am keeping my pedal-only bike as a backup bike. I also have it posted on Spinlister, which is like Airbnb but for bikes. Since I purchased this bike when I still lived in Arlington, VA in 2017 and I rode it daily through rough western Oregon rainy seasons, I doubt it will be rideable much longer.

Source: Ray Atkinson

Due to my e-bike having a longer wheelbase than my pedal-only bike, I have been concerned about whether my e-bike will fit on the bike rack when riding the bus. As the below photo of a parked Petaluma Transit bus shows, the back wheel of my bike is in the wheel well. Since the front wheel is only partly in the wheel well, I am nervous about whether the wheel is far enough into the wheel well to keep my bike from moving. I plan to ask a bike shop for advice before doing a real-world test on a moving bus. While I am not asking for professional advice from my readers, do you think my bike is far enough into the wheel well to keep it from moving on a moving bus?

Source: Ray Atkinson

I wanted to end this blog post with an enjoyable Instagram post. You can read the description to understand what is happening in my Instagram post. Yes, I rode my e-bike through Petaluma River Park. While the severe drought has caused the park to be brown, I hope to see it lush and green someday soon. Since I did not enjoy the long rainy season in western Oregon, the lush and green park better happen without a long rainy season!

Next Blog Post

I may write a follow-up post about the above post. Another option is to continue writing about what I started in my last post. Do you have a preference?

Capital Bikeshare vs. Dockless Bikeshare

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As a resident of Arlington, I have a unique location to watch Capital Bikeshare “compete” with dockless bikeshare. I put “compete” in quotes because the mutual goal of Capital Bikeshare and the five dockless bikeshare companies is to get more people biking. However, some bike planners believe dockless bikeshare will pull enough people from Capital Bikeshare that it won’t be able to compete with dockless bikeshare.

Since bikeshare is still new to most Americans, I want to make sure everyone knows the difference between dock-based and dockless bikeshare. As the below photo shows, dock-based bikeshare systems require the bike to be docked at a station. Capital Bikeshare is the main dock-based bikeshare system that operates in the DC region.

2017-12-08 15.40.01

Photo: Ray Atkinson

As the below photo shows, dockless bikeshare systems have bikes that are self-locked. The five dockless bikeshare companies operating in the DC region are Jump, LimeBike, Mobike, ofo, and Spin. While Jump is the only company with e-bikes, LimeBike and Spin announced last week that they plan to start offering e-bikes soon.

2017-11-15 16.01.00

Photo: Ray Atkinson

While all six bikeshare systems have apps, which are shown below, it’s possible to use Capital Bikeshare without the app by purchasing a pass at the kiosk. Since not everyone has a smartphone, this reduces the barrier to bikeshare. In addition, only Capital Bikeshare can be used by paying cash. Many low-income people don’t have a credit or debit card, so this gives them access to using bikeshare.

Capital Bikeshare vs Dockless Bikeshare

Source: Transit App

I have a unique location to watch this bikeshare situation because of how the permitting process is unfolding across the DC region. While Capital Bikeshare is permitted to operate throughout the region, only DC has given permits to all five dockless bikeshare companies. As this Greater Greater Washington post explains, DC and Montgomery County, MD had an easier process than local jurisdictions in Virginia to create pilot dockless bikeshare programs because they are governed by Home Rule. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which means state law preempts local law. Local jurisdictions must receive permission from the General Assembly to act on local matters. Yes, Maryland is also a Dillon Rule state. However, Montgomery County became the first county in Maryland to adopt a home rule charter in 1948.

Since DC is geographically small and dockless bikeshare companies have been struggling to inform their customers that they don’t have permits to operate outside of DC, I have been watching how human behavior and government processes react to this issue. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which is impacting the ability of local jurisdictions to create pilot dockless bikeshare programs and regulate the dockless bikeshare companies. This is why Virginia doesn’t officially have dockless bikeshare yet. Arlington wrote this blog post to educate people about the different types of bikeshare. I found the following statements interesting.

“the six-month trial of dockless bikeshare is entirely a DC project at this time. The operators do not have an agreement with Arlington County so their operating location is within Washington, DC borders.

If you see a bike in Arlington, you can contact the operator to collect their bike to take back into DC, or you can ride the bike back into the operating location (JUMP bike offers a $1 credit every when a bike is ridden back into the operating area).

This is all still very early in the experimental phase so there is no telling right now how policies could change.”

If this wasn’t confusing enough, only four of the five dockless bikeshare companies have permits from Montgomery County, MD to operate in Silver Spring and Takoma Park. I believe the fifth company, Jump, has decided not to expand to Montgomery County yet because it wants to focus on DC. None of the dockless bikeshare companies have permits to operate elsewhere in DC’s Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Plus, they can’t operate on National Park Service (NPS) property. This is important because the National Mall and regional trails like the Mount Vernon Trail are owned by the NPS.

Dockless Bikeshare

Map of dockless bikeshare’s service area in Silver Spring and Takoma Park, MD. Source: WashCycle

Even if the NPS gave permits to the dockless bikeshare companies to operate on its property, e-bikes are banned from NPS-owned trails. However, I haven’t seen this ban enforced and it doesn’t appear to be discouraging many people from riding e-bikes on trails. I am curious to see whether this controversial NPS ban becomes more heated as LimeBike and Spin join Jump in having e-bikes.

Since many regions throughout the US are working on dockless bikeshare regulations and permit programs, I want to share the below regulation breakdown from Twelve Tone Consulting. The North American Bikeshare Association published the Dockless Bikeshare Regulation Preliminary Guidance in January 2018.

Dockless Bikeshare Regulation Breakdown

Source: Twelve Tone Consulting’s Dockless Bikes: Regulation Breakdown

Dockless bikeshare parking issues have been reported in many locations, so look at Dockless Bike Fail’s tweets for photo evidence. What do you think about the issues I have discussed in this post?